Compare and Contrast the M44 Mosin to the Steyr M95

[kd7nqb]

Currently I have a Mosin M44 and love it, its a good range rifle as well as I took it deer hunting this past year, and had I actually SEEN any deer I am sure it would have been a good deer rifle as well.

Well now one of the local sporting goods stores has Steyr M95 rifles in the 8x56r for $75. I looked at it and it seems like a nice gun, but I could not see anything about it that made it better than the Mosin I have. Also I had a hell of a time trying to price ammo for it. I wanted to compare ammo prices on that as to the mosin ammo.

Any major differences, is one better than the other? All opinions welcome.

 

[lipadj46]

Funny your title sounds like a surreal creative writing exercise from English 101.

 

[saturno_v]

Steyr problem is going to be ammo.

If you are not a reloader, tough luck!!!

And the round is significantly weaker than the 7.62 X 54R...close to a 30-30 in performance than a modern high intensity .30 caliber

I presonally see the Steyr more of a wall hanger than a practical shooter. Rarer rifle and even rarer ammo.

 

[lencac]

I've had both and still have an M44. Don't kid yourself the cartridge that the M95 shoots is no slouch. That rifle is a beast. That's why I named mine "lil abrupt" And to make someone think it is significantly weaker than the 7.62x54R is just not true. To compare that round to a 30-30 is just silly. The Mosin is by far the better rifle for actual practical use but the M95 is still just plain cool. Shoot the M95 at dusk and watch the 5 ft. fireball

 

[saturno_v]

Lencac

Numbers don't lie

The only 2 original loading data I could find on the 8X56R mention 2019 ft/lb for a 206 gr. bullet and 1847 ft/lb for a 200 gr. bullet (Hodgdon and Vihtavuori do not have any data on this cartridge anymore)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8x56mmR

In my book that is way closer to 30-30 territory than 7.62 X 54R....fireballs are not indication of performances....

Yes the spitzer heavier bullets in the Steyr rifle will give you the edge at long range, compared to the 30-30....however I was talking about muzzle energy.

Yes is not slouch...even a 30-30 in no slouch for that matter...it's funny how some people nowdays think of the 30 WCF as some sort of pop gun...

However this old Austrian round is in a different power class compared to a Mosin.

And if we take the older 8X50R, which is another chambering for the Steyr 1895, is even weaker.

 

[ArmedBear]

The Steyr requires en bloc clips. I have a few of them. Think of it as a Garand without a gas system; that's about how it works.

7.62x54 Russkie is common. 7.62x56 Rimmed Hungarian isn't. At all.

Both guns kick, but whereas the Mosin kicks like a mule, the Steyr kicks like a pissed-off bull.

The Steyr is cool-looking. The Mosin is kinda plain-jane (might be neat-o if there weren't so many of them around).

My Steyr will probably end up on the wall. I had to get it because I'm Austrian-American, and Glocks don't fit me. So I have a Croatian plastic pistol, and an Austrian wood rifle.

(Can't and/don't want to afford the new Steyrs out there.)

 

[NCsmitty]

The 8x56R cartridge has a nominal velocity of 2300fps with a 206gr bullet, producing 2400+ ft.lb of energy. It is in deed a stout load.

NCsmitty

 

[ArmedBear]

It is in deed a stout load.

Note that the M95 carbine has a flat steel fighting buttplate and about the heft of a Winchester 94.

Ouch!

 

[ArmedBear]

 

[saturno_v]

The 8x56R cartridge has a nominal velocity of 2300fps with a 206gr bullet, producing 2400+ ft.lb of energy. It is in deed a stout load.

Ok my mistake...one more reason to distrust Wikipedia sometimes....I should have double checked their data..they published the correct bullet weight (206 gr.) and correct velocity (2300 fps)...but the energy number is totally off...I should have run the numbers myself.
The problem is that I could not find any other "official" load data other than other forums..
Yes, about 2400 ft/lb, which is rather stout.

I apologize for the misinformation

P.S.

The same Wikipedia page mention another load with 200 gr. bullet weight at 2040 fps...I run the numbers and it results in 1847 ft/lb...there was such load for thsi caliber or the author of the page made another mistake??? Maybe is the data for the older 8X50R??

 

[lencac]

Bingo NCsmitty. I have chrono'ed my M95 when I had it and it was running between 2300 fps and 2350 fps on a 85 degree day at 5300 ft. altitude. And as you stated .......... it is a handful ....... hence the name "lil Abrupt", because when you pulled the bang switch ...... you guessed it ............ it was a lil abrupt. What I thought was as much impressive as the fireball and sore shoulder was the fact that inspite of the fact that the rounds were head stamped 1938 with a Nazi logo each and every round went bang like they were just loaded. I have 1 8X56R round left, perhaps I'll put it on Gun Broker

 

[chuzy2]

I have a steyr 95 carbine and handload using 16.o grains of 2400 and either cast bullets or pulled military bullets. I have several hundred rounds for it but all I shoot are the handloads. Lee recommends putting .338 bullets through a .330 sizing die to load hunting loads. I believe the military loads are Hirtenberger, which is high quality stuff. It's a great plinker! I also have the Nagants which I love and I use reduced loads to plink with them also.

 

[kd7nqb]

Alright, I am keepin the Mosin and not getting a M95 put the money towards the 10/22 I want anyway.

 

[lencac]

Case solved